Changes

"In 1977, a liberal Congress under President Jimmy Carter established the '''Community Reinvestment Act''' (CRA) to encourage those earning low incomes to obtain mortgages."  "... in 1995, President Bill Clinton - with the help of liberals in Congress - added massive new provisions to CRA that forced banks to issue $1 trillion dollars in bad loans and indirectly fund the work of radical left-wing organizations." <ref>[http://www.grasstopsusa.com/freemarketsolutions.html Your Blast Fax], ''GrasstopsUSA.com''</ref>

"In 1977, a [[liberal]] [[Congress]] under President [[Jimmy Carter]] established the '''Community Reinvestment Act''' (CRA) to encourage those earning low incomes to obtain mortgages."  "... in 1995, President [[Bill Clinton]] - with the help of liberals in Congress - added massive new provisions to CRA that forced banks to issue $1 trillion dollars in bad loans and indirectly fund the work of radical left-wing organizations." <ref>[http://www.grasstopsusa.com/freemarketsolutions.html Your Blast Fax], ''GrasstopsUSA.com''</ref>

"The original lobbyists for the CRA were the hardcore leftists who supported the Carter administration and were often rewarded for their support with government grants and programs like the CRA that they benefited from. These included various "neighborhood organizations," as they like to call themselves, such as [[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)|"ACORN" (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)]]." <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo125.html The Government-Created Subprime Mortgage Meltdown], Thomas J. DiLorenzo, ''LewRockwell.com''</ref>

[[Thomas J. DiLorenzo]] said, "The original lobbyists for the CRA were the hardcore leftists who supported the Carter administration and were often rewarded for their support with government grants and programs like the CRA that they benefited from. These included various "neighborhood organizations," as they like to call themselves, such as [[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)|"ACORN" (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)]]." <ref>[http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo125.html The Government-Created Subprime Mortgage Meltdown], Thomas J. DiLorenzo, ''LewRockwell.com''</ref>

Howard Husock wrote the following: "The Clinton administration has turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities and, as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm memorably put it, a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks. Under its provisions, U.S. banks have committed nearly $1 trillion for inner-city and low-income mortgages and real estate development projects, most of it funneled through a nationwide network of left-wing community groups..."

[[Howard Husock]] wrote the following: "The Clinton administration has turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities and, as Senate Banking Committee Chairman [[Phil Gramm]] memorably put it, a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks. Under its provisions, U.S. banks have committed nearly $1 trillion for inner-city and low-income mortgages and real estate development projects, most of it funneled through a nationwide network of left-wing community groups..."

"Crucially, the new CRA regulations also instructed bank examiners to take into account how well banks responded to complaints. The old CRA evaluation process had allowed advocacy groups a chance to express their views on individual banks, and publicly available data on the lending patterns of individual banks allowed activist groups to target institutions considered vulnerable to protest. But for advocacy groups that were in the complaint business, the Clinton administration regulations offered a formal invitation. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a foundation-funded umbrella group for community activist groups that profit from the CRA, issued a clarion call to its members in a leaflet entitled 'The New CRA Regulations: How Community Groups Can Get Involved.' 'Timely comments,' the NCRC observed with a certain understatement, 'can have a strong influence on a bank's CRA rating.'"

"Crucially, the new CRA regulations also instructed bank examiners to take into account how well banks responded to complaints. The old CRA evaluation process had allowed advocacy groups a chance to express their views on individual banks, and publicly available data on the lending patterns of individual banks allowed activist groups to target institutions considered vulnerable to protest. But for advocacy groups that were in the complaint business, the Clinton administration regulations offered a formal invitation. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a foundation-funded umbrella group for community activist groups that profit from the CRA, issued a clarion call to its members in a leaflet entitled 'The New CRA Regulations: How Community Groups Can Get Involved.' 'Timely comments,' the NCRC observed with a certain understatement, 'can have a strong influence on a bank's CRA rating.'"